ALKANA THROUGH TO HURDLES SEMIS

Antonio Alkana made a solid start to his indoor career, progressing to the penultimate round of the men’s 60m hurdles, as South Africa’s World Indoor Championships campaign got underway in Portland, Oregon in the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time).
The national outdoor champion, competing in his first indoor race, finished fourth in his heat in 7.76 seconds to snatch the last available place in the semifinals.
Earlier on day three of the global spectacle, the SA men’s 4x400m relay team ended seventh, and last, in the heats in 3:08.45.
The quartet – consisting of Thapelo Phora, Ofentse Mogawane, Jon Seeliger and Shaun de Jager – missed out on a place in the final by 0.47.
It was the first time a South African team had competed in the indoor relay discipline.
Alkana will compete in the high-hurdles semifinals at 9.40pm on Sunday.
Ruswahl Samaai, the only other athlete in the SA team, will also make his indoor debut when he turns out in the men’s long jump final at 10.05pm.